


Bolts

by Sugar_Magnolia



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-11
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2017-12-29 03:25:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1000315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar_Magnolia/pseuds/Sugar_Magnolia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which game mechanics imply that Ratchet and Clank share access to a bank account. Takes place near the beginning of A Crack in Time. (Also I apologize if this concept has been done before.) (Also oops I've added another chapter.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. [Phylax Sector]

Aphelion very carefully chose the volume of what she was about to say. A simple test - she needed to be loud enough to be noted but not to startle.

"Ratchet. Ratchet. Ratchet. Ratchet. Ratchet. Ratchet? Ratchet."

No response. Ratchet continued looking in a direction that housed nothing in particular. Faraway stars slowly drifted past the cockpit viewport as Aphelion glided through the empty space of the Phylax Sector, and not a single one caught Ratchet's eye.

She sighed audibly. That was not the result she had hoped for, but it was the one she expected more and more often.

The volume went up a few ticks, and a few more for good measure. "RATCHET."

Ratchet blinked and returned to awareness, but remained less than vibrant. "I-uh. Sorry. What's up."

"You do that quite a lot now. While you and I are both well aware of my stellar auto-piloting capabilities, I am not comfortable letting you continue to drive in your increasingly inattentive state," she stated briskly. She could sense this was becoming a battle of mere verbal attrition.

"When is the last time you ate, or even slept?" she continued.

"I slept...what...some...hours ago." He frowned for a split second. "In this cockpit. You saw me."

"Well of course I remembered that. I wanted to see if _you_ could." She softened her tone a little. "You need to take a break, Ratchet. You'll be no help to Clank if you're constantly on the verge of passing out."

*******

The cafe in the ship stop was well-stocked with the kind of coffee cup that floats an inch above its saucer, and Ratchet occupied himself by waving one hand between the two, the other hand cupping the side of his face. He was loath to admit the fact, but upon reflection he actually was no longer sure of the last time he had eaten, and now Aphelion sat in the parking lot, refusing to move until he had finished taking a legitimate form of sustenance. He appreciated her concern, and what would he do without her really, but at the same time he couldn't help but worry about Clank, about the nature of this Vorselon character...about a lot of things, really.

The waiter eventually brought himself to the table on a long gait, swapping Ratchet's pie plate for a check before wordlessly ambling away. Ratchet flipped open his moneybook, and as the screen flicked on he hoped that he still had three...thousand bolts?

Alarm pricked at his ears and tightened his chest for a split-second; this couldn't be right! He just spent almost everything in his active bolt account on a new set of Buzz Blades, and he hadn't touched his savings in weeks. He didn't do this but how did anyone get into this account it was high security only he and Clank could - 

_Clank_ could. Clank could also put bolts into this account because they'd set it up that way years ago. It was convenient on missions and wasn't intrusive in everyday situations. Of course, _maybe_ it was a mishap with his account and _probably_ they just accidentally added a few thousand bolts, but it made Ratchet feel oddly...peaceful. For a moment.

Doing her best to leer at Ratchet through the cafe window, Aphelion was utterly tickled to see him flash a smile.


	2. [Later, The Great Clock]

"Sigmund?" Clank whispered.

The single word was enough to make Sigmund jump and shout, as he had been absorbed in watching a particularly rapid time rift pass over the surface of Perigee Tau. One arm ensnared his head while the other whirled around a few times before he stopped.

"I apologize for disturbing you. I merely wished to ask you about one of the features of this...Chronoscepter?" Clank continued, wandering into the room.

"Oh no no no that was my fault! I'm sorry I'm just not used to visitors - I mean you're _not_ a visitor! What I mean is - yanno, nevermind." Sigmund attemped to reposition himself. "So...what's up?"

Clank held the Chronoscepter in front of himself as best he could, looking it over. "I am unsure about the nature of this device's ability to repair things. Why am I given _money_ when I do so?"

Sigmund twiddled his fingers. "I actually don't know that either...I always assumed it was some kind of reward system Orvus whipped up? But why would a caretaker need that? Protecting time and doing the right thing should always be top priority!" He pointed dramatically in the direction of nothing in particular.

Clank chuckled. "Well, we are in agreement! There is nothing to purchase anyway."

"Oh, we could always order pizza! Well I guess we don't eat pizza. But we could still order it! That would be fun!" Sigmund paused. " _Buuuut_ I guess we need to take care of Doctor Nefarious before we do that, heh."

Clank, enjoying the moment, pulled out his internal display screen in order to see how many bolts he had accumulated, and found that the bank account he shared with Ratchet presently showed his addition of approximately three thou- no, wait. Just three bolts. In total.

That was odd. Clank was positive the bolts he had been finding were being deposited - he had been receiving fairly regular deposit notifications (of course the First Multigalactic Bank of Metropolis would receive his bolts even at the Great Clock), meaning that Ratchet had to have recently emptied the entire thing.

Ascertaining Ratchet's location had admittedly been on the proverbial backburner, as dealing with Nefarious and Lawrence's machinations had been of the highest priority. But now that they had left the Clock and things were quieter, Clank had begun to wonder exactly what Ratchet had been up to for...however much time had passed since they had last spoke. (Clank was not entirely sure he wanted to know how long that was.)

For instance, what in the name of Qwark was Ratchet _buying_? Clank read over the list of recent transactions.

\--GRUMMELNET MUNITIONS OUTPOST #62905R--  
\--GRUMMELNET MUNITIONS OUTPOST #141223S--  
\--GRUMMELNET MUNITIONS OUTPOST #33307E--  
\--GRUMMELNET MUNITIONS OUTPOST #176842P--

Guns, no doubt. It was nice to see Ratchet busy.


End file.
